Haunted Souls
by Pey119
Summary: An eviction paper, anxiety. A chance for a better life, an offer from Will's uncle. A gamble in the making. They rolled the dice, they took the chance. (Solangelo, human Au, complete)
1. Prologue

Nico stared at his husband as if he had grown a second head, the paper he was holding fluttering out of his hands. "I...I... Excuse me?"

Will Solace moved his hands to Nico's, his grasp tight on the paler boy. "Neeks...I know, I know it's a shock-"

"A shock?!" Nico pulled his hands back. "That isn't just a shock, William! That's a damn heart attack!"

Will sighed. "Please calm down...the kids will hear you."

"Hear me go on about how you have a weird ass family?" Nico crossed his arms but lowered his voice. "Are you sure we can even trust this? This...this is shady."

"My mom said we can." Will grabbed the paper Nico had dropped and held it in front of his husband's face. "And it would get rid of this problem for us."

Nico snatched the eviction paper from Will. "Don't let the kids see it. I don't want them worried about it."

"Nobody would have to be worried if we took my uncle's offer." Will scratched the back of his neck. "I looked into it. Looked into all I needed to. It would work."

Nico glanced around at the dirty kitchen, saw how poor it looked. Everything was falling apart, nothing was in good shape. His kids had to share one room, their clothes weren't ever new. In his hand he held a paper that could leave them on the streets, that could take away everything they had.

"Fine..." Nico breathed out. "Fine. Fine, Will. But if this goes wrong..."

Will grinned. "I'll start packing! The kids will be so excited!" He kissed Nico's cheek before running to his room, leaving Nico alone in the kitchen. His fingers tingled, his heart jumped every other beat. He knew this was the wrong choice, knew something wasn't right.

But he made it anyway.


	2. Chapter 1

Nico stood in the hall beside the open door, his eyes closed as he listened to the conversation inside. Will was trying to explain to the kids, trying to make it sound as innocent as he could.

"So...so my grandma died." Will was saying. "And my uncle inherited her...property. But he doesn't want it so he's giving it to us."

"Why'd you say property like that?" Bianca asked. She was their oldest at sixteen, her pale features almost matching Nico's. "And where is it?"

"Scotland." Will scratched the back of his neck. "It's...in Scotland."

"I don't know where that is!" Ethan declared. He was around five, named after an old friend of theirs that had died too young. When they adopted Ethan he was still a newborn, leaving the name choice up to them. "Is it as far as the store?"

Nico chuckled softly, hearing Will do the same. "No, buddy." Will tried to explain. "It's farther. A lot farther. We'd have to take a plane."

"Again, why'd you say property like that?" Bianca asked. "It better be bigger than this house if we're going all the way to Scotland."

"Well..." Will paused before speaking again. "My grandma...may or may not...have owned a castle..."

"A castle?!" Nico grinned at Bianca's excited statement. "We own a castle?!"

"A castle!" Ethan joined in. "Dad, you got us a castle?!"

Will laughed softly. "It's all the way in Scotland and we have no idea the shape it's in-"

"If your grandma lived in it, we can." Bianca interrupted. "When are we leaving?"

"Today? Please say today." Ethan begged. "I want to see the castle!"

Nico stepped into the room then, his hands deep in his pockets. "Kids...you sure you want to move? It's far, and your friends-"

"We don't have friends, dad." Bianca had already started to throw things in a duffle bag. "Please? Please, can we go? I can get my own room. We could have so much fun exploring..." She trailed off as Nico held his hand up. "What?"

"There will be rules." Nico glanced at Will. "Again, we don't know the shape it's in. You might not be able to just randomly go exploring. We'll see."

"Party pooper." Bianca looked to Will. "Dad-"

"He's right." Will cut in. "We'll just have to see when we get there."

" _When_ are we getting there?" Ethan asked. "Today?"

"I have to talk to your other dad about that." Will ruffled Ethan's blond hair. "Did you brush your hair today? It's tangly."

Ethan's hands moved to the top of his head. "Maybe..."

"Right." Will kissed his forehead before getting up. "Brush it while I talk to him."

"Do I have to?" Ethan asked.

"You know that answer to that." Will left the room and moved to his own bedroom, Nico following. Once they were behind a closed door, Will sat on the bed and spoke again. "They're really excited about this."

"I know, I heard." Nico sat next to him. "Do we have money for plane tickets? They're...they're really expensive. And then all our things..."

"We can pay for it all with my inheritance." Will kissed Nico's hand. "They want this. And so do it. I've always wanted to get out of this country. You have, too. I know you have."

"That was before we had three kids." Nico put his head in his hands. "We already told them we're going. We can't turn back now. I just...I just wish I could be happier about it."

"Me too..." Will got off the bed. "I'm...I'm going to go check on the kids. Maria should be waking up soon."

"Okay..." Nico didn't look up. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow?" Will asked. "So we have time to pack?"

"Whatever." Nico laid down, his eyes staring at the peeling wall. "You'll get everything situated?"

Will nodded. "I told you I would."

"I have a horrible feeling about this..." Nico whispered. "A _horrible_ feeling, Will."

Will ruffled Nico's hair. "I know. But it'll be okay. I promise you."

Nico nodded. "Yeah...okay. Get them packed for me? I have a headache."

"I will, I will." Will gestured around them. "But that means I won't have time to pack all of our stuff."

"We can work on that later." Nico rolled over to face Will. "Come kiss me."

Will grinned. "Now that's a demand I can follow." He leaned over to kiss Nico, letting himself melt into the kiss before pulling away. "There. Sleep that headache away so you can help me. Maybe we can order pizza or something."

Nico nodded. "Goodnight."

"Night."


	3. Chapter 2

Bianca had her arms crossed, her dark hair falling into her face as she tried to ignore her siblings. Ethan was on one side of her, rapping about something he should never have even known about. Maria was in her carrier on Bianca's other side, sobbing as loud as a newborn could. The small car couldn't hold that much noise, couldn't do anything but echo it back over them.

"Are we almost there?" she finally asked, unable to take it for any longer. "I'm about to throw myself out of the car."

"You and me both," Nico muttered.

"We should be there in five minutes if this GPS is right," Will answered, elbowing Nico. "Can you try to calm Maria down?"

"Calm her down? Don't you think I would have already?" Bianca tried to stuff the pacifier ( **dummy in British English I think** ) in the baby's mouth. "She won't stop crying."

"Get her bottle out of her bag and try feeding her." Nico offered. "If it works then we'll have five minutes of peace. Ethan, where did you learn that song?"

"Your phone," Ethan replied. "You play music when you do the dishes."

Will tried to glare at Nico without looking away from the road. "You play that music around him?"

"In my defense, I thought he was outside." Nico shrugged. "But yeah."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Now it's got us wishing we didn't have ears."

"Hey!" Ethan elbowed her side, causing the bottle she held to fall onto Maria's lap, causing her sobbing to increase.

"Ethaaaannnnnnn." Nico covered his ears. "Now she's never going to stop."

Will himself was ready to cut his own ears off. "We're here. We're here. Everyone, please be quiet." He parked the car before getting out, almost falling to his knees as he met the silence of the Scottish landscape. There was no one around for miles, nothing around but the medium sized castle that stood about fifty feet in front of them. One large tower, a large set of doors, walls that looked as old as Jesus. "Wow..."

Bianca was next to jump out of the car, followed by Nico who had picked up Maria to try and calm her. The baby started to relax in the arms of her favorite parent, but her whimpering never seemed to cease. As he dug around for her toy, Bianca stood next to Will with awe written on her face. "Woah... It's really ours?"

"Yeah..." Will wrapped an arm around Bianca's shoulders. "Was it how you were expecting?"

" _Better_ than I was expecting." she leaned against her father, fully trusting him even though she knew she wasn't really his. Not by blood, anyway. "Can we go in?"

"Let's get Maria calmed first." Will helped Ethan out of the car as Nico tried to calm the sobbing baby, most of his attempts fruitless until he let the baby suck on his finger. In minutes she had quieted down, leaving an exhausted Nico to look at Will in shock.

"Well...I'm not complaining." Nico finally stated. "Are we going in?"

"Yeah, we can get our bags after we figure out where we're going to be sleeping tonight." Will held onto Ethan's hand as tight as he could without hurting him. "Ethan...stay with me, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."

"Hurt by what?" he looked up at Will, his large eyes as green as the grass at their feet. "Nobody else lives there, right?"

"Right." Will kneeled down so he was closer to Ethan's height. "But sometimes these places could have dangerous floors or walls because they're so old. So you just have to stay by me for now until I say it's safe, okay?"

"Okay." Ethan agreed. "Can I have a piggy back ride?"

Will grinned as he helped his only son onto his back. "Hold on tight."

"I will," Ethan promised. "Let's go in!"

Will led them inside the castle, the dark interior taking a minute to get used to. The first thing he noticed was the large staircase, it's wooden steps looking as if they would cave in at any moment. The railing was covered in cobwebs, peeling here and there and leaving chips of paint on the steps. Will didn't trust it to even hold Maria.

"Awesome..." Bianca took a step into the room. "I thought you said your grandma lived here."

"That's what I was told." Will grabbed her arm before she could go far. "But now I'm questioning it."

"It'll...be fine," Nico assured them. "We'll make it work." He looked around the room before moving in the direction of a doorway. "Come on, let's see what's in here."

Bianca ran to catch up with him. "We're exploring, now?"

"Exploring for a place to sleep." Nico corrected. "We need to make sure we can settle in tonight. It's not like there's a hotel nearby."

Bianca deflated. "Party pooper."

"Yeah, yeah." Nico led her through the doorway. "You'll be thanking me once you run into a thing of spiders."

Bianca shivered. "Hopefully there aren't any."

"If you stay with me, I can kill them," Nico explained, walking down the dimly lit hallway. Portraits lined the walls, seeming to stare at them as they walked. "If you go off by yourself...well, you'll be their dinner."

Bianca elbowed him but made sure not to jostle Maria. "Meanie."

Nico elbowed her back. "It's the truth."

Bianca looked behind them, frowning when she didn't catch sight of Will or Ethan. "Dad? Where did they go?"

"Probably off looking somewhere else." Nico glanced behind them before continuing on. "Come on. We have to find a candle to light. It's getting dark."

"There's no electricity?!" Bianca screeched.

Nico smiled thinly. "Nope. This'll be fun."


	4. Chapter 3

"Dad? Where did they go?" Ethan asked from Will's back, gripping onto his father as tight as he could as they walked down the dark hallways. "Where are the lights?"

"There is only electricity in some parts of the castle," Will answered. "We're trying to find that part, okay? I don't know where they went. We'll meet up with them later."

"Are we going to get eaten?" Ethan asked, as serious as ever. "Ghosts are going to come eat us."

"Where did you hear that from?" Will asked, using his phone as a flashlight. "Ghosts don't eat people."

"The ghost on Ghost Busters ate lots of food," Ethan replied. "If he can eat food then he can eat us."

"Why would a ghost eat us?" Will asked, getting to an old staircase that seemed more stable than the last. He started to look at the walls, praying that he'd find an electric switch soon. "Our bodies probably taste disgusting."

Ethan buried his head in Will's shoulder. "That's not what you said last week about dad."

"WHAT?!" Will looked back at his son as his face darkened. "What are you talking about? What did you hear?"

"Dad was reaching for your cereal so you bit him." Ethan replied. "Remember? Then you said he tasted like blood and he said that blood tastes good."

Will felt his heart drop into his stomach. Of course, it had been innocent. Nico was getting to him. "Right...sorry for freaking out, Ethan."

"It's okay." Ethan reached over Will's shoulder and flipped a switch on the wall, illuminating the dusty room around him. "There. No more dark."

"Thank god..." Will looked up the staircase as he turned the flashlight on his phone off. "This looks nice, huh? Not like all those things falling apart when we first came in."

"Maybe your grandma only lived over here." Ethan leaned his chin on the top of Will's head. "Maybe the ghosts live in the other part."

"There's no such thing as ghosts." Will started up the stairs, hesitant at first as he tested his weight. "They're a myth, Ethan."

Ethan sighed. "That's not what Bianca said."

"Bianca was just trying to scare you." Will looked around them in awe. As they walked further up, the room became more magnificent. The sparkling chandelier, the floor so far down... "Look at that, Ethan. Beautiful, huh?"

"Scary." Ethan yawned. "I'm hungry."

"Me, too."

* * *

"Dad...you're lying, right?" Bianca asked for the fifth time. "There's electricity, right? You're just teasing me."

Nico smirked, carrying his candle around as if he didn't have a phone with a flashlight in his pocket. "Hmmm... I don't know."

"Dad!"

"Let's focus on finding Will and Ethan." Nico waved the questions aside. "We really need to set up some sleeping bags or something for the night."

"What about Maria?" Bianca asked, her arms crossed.

"We have that blowup crib for her in the car." Nico felt around the wall for a light switch but didn't find any. "It'll work until we put the other one back together."

Bianca huffed. "This place isn't as fun as I thought it'd be."

"That's cause it's too dark to see shit." Nico glanced away. "Sorry for the language."

"Dad, I go to high school." Bianca patted him on the shoulder. "I hear much worse."

"You're still not allowed to say it." he walked through another doorway, leaving her no choice but to follow.

"Why not?" Bianca complained. "You and dad do. All the kids at school do."

"Because I said so," Nico replied, feeling too much like his own parents. "I know you've heard that before but too bad."

He stopped when he heard footsteps, his eyes lighting up. "Will? You there?"

Silence. The footsteps were gone, Will never responded. As Nico started to feel a cold chill crawl up his spine, Bianca gripped onto his arm. "Dad...what was that?"

"I don't know." he looked around warily. "Just stay close to me."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Bianca muttered. "This place is creepy as hell."

"What did I say about cursing?"

"Hell is a place."

"I could say this place is a shithole. That doesn't mean you can say it."

"They say hell in the Bible." Bianca pointed out.

"So...?" Nico handed her Maria. "They also mention prostitution. You aren't allowed to do that, either."

Bianca looked down at the baby in her arms. "Why'd you give me Maria? She liked you better."

"Cause." Nico got his phone from his pocket. "I'm using my flashlight. I give up on this candle."

Bianca smirked. "Told you so."

Nico turned the flashlight on, the hallway in front of him lighting up. In that light...

His candle dropped to the floor, the flame distinguishing before it could set the carpet on fire. As it did, Nico watched as the shadow figure disappeared, as what looked to be a man vanished into thin air.


	5. Chapter 4

"Look at this." Will walked into what looked to be a sitting room, closing the door behind him before finally setting Ethan down. "This is nice looking."

Ethan moved to the two couches, his eyes on the cold fireplace. "Does fire go in that hole?"

Will smiled. "Yeah, it does. Let's see if we can light it." He walked over the old rug, his eyes looking the stone walls over. Piles of books were pushed up against them, not looking sorted by any kind of system. "Why don't you sit down and get comfortable for the night? I'll find you some blankets."

"No!" Ethan shook his head. "I'm not sleeping yet!"

"And why not?" Will kneeled by the fireplace, his eyes trailing the wooden logs already in it. "It's almost dark out."

"Cause we still haven't found daddy and Bi," Ethan explained. "So we have to find them first."

"I can find them while you lay-"

"No!"

"Huh?" Will looked at his son in shock. "What are you yelling about?"

"Don't leave me alone!" Ethan begged. "I'm scared! Please don't leave me alone!"

"Ethan..." Will moved to the couch to sit next to his son. "You shouldn't be scared of this place. I promise that it's safe."

Ethan crawled on Will's lap. "It's scary...and dark...and cold. The ghosts are going to come eat me if you leave me alone."

Will wrapped his arms around the small boy. "How many times do I have to say that the ghosts won't eat you?"

Ethan hid his face in his father's chest. "Please don't leave me alone..."

"I won't." Will gave in. "But you have to stay by me if I bring you with me, okay?"

Ethan nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Will got up before putting his son on his back just as he did earlier, his eyes gazing over the room around them. Where could Nico have possibly walked off to? If he didn't know any better, he'd say Nico had gone to try and find the darker side of the castle. Maybe a grave or two, maybe some blood spots. Nico always had liked to be his own investigator.

"Let's go find that insane husband of mine." Will left the room with his phone out, the battery slowly dying. "He's probably trying to summon something."

"He's going to summon the ghosts that are gonna eat us!" Ethan's grip on Will's neck almost choked him. "Tell him no! Tell him to stop!"

Will sighed. "Ethan, relax. I was joking. He isn't going to summon anything."

"We're going to find him eated." Ethan muttered. "Him and Bianca were eated."

* * *

"Dad?" Bianca looked over at the frozen Nico, her heart sinking when she saw the look on his face. It was dark in the room, almost too dark, but his flashlight gave her some light to see his pale cheeks, his wide eyes, his mouth slightly open in shock. "What's wrong? Are you okay? What'd you see?" She looked down at the candle, relaxing when she saw that nothing had caught fire. "You could have killed us, you know!"

Nico's long eyelashes moved with each slow blink, his look of horror slowly fading into disbelief. "I...holy fucking hell-"

"Dad!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry." the beam of the flashlight shook with his nervous hands. "I...I can't believe that just happened..."

" _What_ just happened?" Bianca asked, growing impatient. "All you've done is drop a candle, you know. Were you trying to commit arson?"

"What? No." Nico handed her the phone, it's flashlight still on and as bright as ever. He tangled his hands in his hair, pulled at the dark curls as if that would put his head back where it was supposed to be. "I saw..."

"Dad, if you don't tell me what the hell is going on-"

"Bianca!" her choice of words seemed to break through to him. "What did we _just_ go over about cursing?"

"It was the only way to get you back to reality!" she defended. "You look insane! You almost killed us with the stupid candle!"

"The candle..." Nico looked down at its remains. "Oh... I... I'm sorry. I couldn't control my reaction. I just...dropped it."

"Why? What did you see?" Bianca pressured. "You haven't told me anything."

Nico peered into the darkness but the shadow figure was nowhere to be seen. "I don't know how. You're going to think I'm insane or you're also going to freak out."

"Dude, just tell me!"

"A fucking shadow, okay?!" Nico turned to face his daughter. "A shadow that wasn't mine or yours and had fucking red eyes! You know how fucked up that sounds?! Cause I do!"

Bianca froze, the beam of light shaking again as her hands started to match those of her father. "Oh..."

Nico's gaze softened. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I shouldn't have talked that way to you..." He put a hand to his forehead, his breaths coming out uneven and harsh. "I'm sorry. I was scared."

Bianca slowly let one hand fall to her side, the other arm still holding a sleeping baby. "It's okay, dad. I understand."

"You do?"

She nodded. "Let's just try to find dad and Ethan, okay? You might have made it up. Maybe you need sleep."

Nico scowled. "You sound like Will."

"Well, I am his daughter." Bianca spread the fingers of her free hand. "And someone's got to take care of you. You'd be six feet under if it wasn't for us."

Nico's mouth quirked up into a smile. "Haha, very funny."

"I know, right?"

"That was sarcastic."

"So was that."


	6. Chapter 5

Will eventually found Nico and Bianca in the oldest and abandoned side of the castle. They were both moving around as if they were on an active battlefield, Bianca clenching Maria to her chest. Nico himself was paler than usual, his dark eyes narrowed in fear.

"Nico?" Will's voice caused both of them to jump. "What's wrong? Why are you all the way over here? Ethan and I found a place to sleep for tonight."

"Will..." Nico hugged his husband, his arms shaking from shock and fear. "I saw something...I don't know how to explain it...God, I feel insane..."

"Don't feel insane." Will kissed his head before looking to Bianca. "Are you okay?"

The teenage girl nodded despite the fear that shown in her eyes. "It's scarier here than I expected."

"That's because you're in the area without electricity." Will kept Ethan on his back, having more trouble now that he had fallen asleep. "I found the place where my grandmother must have stayed. It's taken care of and has electricity."

"Really?!" Bianca's eyes lit up. "Electricity?!"

"Yeah but there's no Wifi. Don't get your hopes up." Will shrugged. "I don't know what else you could use your phone for."

Bianca huffed before looking to Nico for help. "You need internet to watch your shows! Hasn't one updated?"

Nico snuck a glance at Will. "That's true, man."

Will would have facepalmed if his hands were free from holding Ethan up. "Let's just get to where there's electricity so we can sleep. Ethan is heavier when he's asleep."

Nico glanced back at where he first saw the shadow, his good mood fading just as the shadow had. "Yeah... I can tell you about what happened...hopefully, it was just my imagination."

"Imagination? If you had been holding Maria you probably would have dropped her." Bianca looked to Will. "I've never seen him like that, to be honest."

Nico waved her away. "You're not my therapist. I'm okay."

She rolled her eyes. "I know you better than you know yourself." She gestured to Will. "We've seen you watching your 'show'. What's it called again? Spongebob?"

Nico blushed. "Not my fault I didn't have a childhood!"

"That doesn't mean you have to watch every episode at three in the morning," Bianca argued. "Then you sit there searching to see if there are new ones when you know there won't be."

Nico held his hands up in surrender. "Let's go lay down before I jump off one of those staircases."

Will couldn't help but laugh at the situation. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

That night was the hardest night Nico had ever endured. Fits of restless sleep, shadows seen out of the corners of his eyes. By midnight he had given up on going back to sleep, knowing that even sleeping by Will wouldn't help him now. Not after seeing what he had seen.

Bianca laid on one couch as Ethan laid on the other, blankets on the floor for Nico and Will to lay. Nico had gotten up, however, leaving a shivering Will under the mound of blankets. As soon as the sun went down, Will's control vanished. He was always cold, always tired. Ironic, considering his last name. He blamed it on being raised as a morning person, but Nico just found it a coincidence.

There was a grandfather clock in the corner of the room, seeming to be as old as the castle itself. Cobwebs covered it inside and out, but it still kept on ticking through time. Nico could mostly stand it, but at three in the morning it let out an eerie ring that sounded too much like a warning for his comfort.

A warning for what? It took him too long to figure out.

On high alert now from the night he had been having, Nico quickly heard the footsteps that seemed to be coming from right above him. Heavy boots, it sounded like. Heavy boots...

Nico grabbed the fire poker before peeking out of the room, his eyes scanning the dark hallways. He could think of multiple reasons why someone would be in there, including a homeless person who thought it was abandoned or a serial killer who wanted five more victims. Both didn't help his mental state or the fact that his hands were shaking the fire poker every which way.

It wasn't courage that got him to step out into that hallway. It was actually fear, fear of what could happen to his family if he didn't. His sarcastic daughter, his little Ethan and his many fears, his newborn baby that hadn't been able to experience life yet, his husband... It was always them that gave him the will to live, the will to fight for his life. It was them that got him back on his feet from the horrors of his teenage years.

Nico never told his kids, Will never told them. But his teenage years leaked in every now and again, forcing him to see how much his life had changed. If he hadn't ever met Will...he'd probably be dead.

"Who's there?" Nico asked, making sure to close the door behind him quietly. "Who's there?" Still in his pajamas, his bare arms were out in the open. Scars were seen, though most had faded away along with where needle marks once were. In the dim light, they caught his attention more than the moving shadows around him.

He walked around all night, tried to find where the footsteps had come from.

The castle was empty beside him and his family.


	7. Chapter 6

Despite that having been the scare of his life, nothing happened to Nico for months after that. He and Will got their own room, they could both sleep soundly throughout the night. Bianca's room was close by, along with the room that Ethan and Maria shared. The only one that had trouble sleeping through the night was Maria, but that was normal for a baby her age. It was one of the reasons why parents never got any sleep.

This peace didn't last, however. Six months after they moved in, all Hell broke loose. Literally.

That morning had started like any other. As Will got ready to drive the five miles to work, Nico made breakfast in the cold kitchen. It was a large enough kitchen with what seemed to be a breakfast nook, but it was underground and cold enough to leave perishables out in the open. Whenever he cooked, he came prepared with a hoodie and sometimes even gloves, depending on what he was cooking. The kids always came in the same getup.

"Dad." Ethan walked into the kitchen with a winter hat on along with the hoodie and gloves. His eyes were watering, but not from the cold. "I'm scared."

"What happened?" Nico abandoned what he was cooking to go comfort his son. "Eth, what happened?"

Ethan's small arms wrapped around Nico as soon as he was within reach. "Ghost! He's going to eat me!"

Nico sighed. "Ghosts don't eat people... What do you mean you saw a ghost?"

Ethan's small hands clenched onto Nico's shirt as if that was the only thing keeping him safe and alive. Tears poured from his eyes, spilling onto the floor, a twisted form of a waterfall. As he spoke, his sobs escaped his throat with utter fear. "Saw...saw the ghost...I'm scared...I'm gonna get eated."

"Eaten." Nico corrected. "What did you see? What did the ghost look like?"

Ethan's eyes widened. "Dark..."

Nico frowned. "Dark?"

Ethan nodded. "Dark." He pointed to Nico's shadow. "Like that. Dark."

Nico thought back to their first night there, thought back to what he saw in that beam of light...that shadow he couldn't make sense of. "Shit..."

Instead of correcting his language, Ethan buried himself deeper into Nico. "Do you believe me...? Dad didn't."

"I believe you." Nico felt his heart drop. "I believe you... Just stay with me, okay? You're safe with me."

"Is there a ghost?" Ethan asked. "Are they real?"

"I'm...I'm not sure what it is yet," Nico admitted. "But I'll figure it out. Don't you worry... How about you help me cook?"

Ethan shrugged a little. "Can I have hot chocolate? It's cold in here."

"Course." Nico picked him up before walking to the cupboards. "With milk or water?"

"Milk." Ethan didn't let go of Nico but started to calm, his tears mostly stopping. "Water is disgusting in hot chocolate."

"Agreed." Nico began to make the drink, his body tense in the dark kitchen. What shadow was going to jump out next? Who would it scare? Could it hurt them? He made sure to listen to the baby monitor at every second, made sure to listen for a scream or curse. None came, but the atmosphere never calmed.

Bianca was next to enter the kitchen, her face pale. As soon as she saw Nico she ran to him, her face buried in his shoulder as soon as she was close enough. "Dad..."

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking back at Bianca. "What happened?"

"I saw... I don't know..." her body shook with fear. "A shadow person...? I don't know..."

Nico sighed. "That's what Ethan said..."

Bianca glanced at Ethan who now sat on the counter, sipping his hot chocolate. "You, too?"

Ethan nodded, his eyes still red from crying. "Scary..."

"Where did you see it?" Nico asked. "Were you in the good part of the castle?"

Bianca nodded. "My room... It was in my room."

Nico wrapped an arm around her as he felt a surge of protectiveness. "Ethan, what about you?"

"Above Maria's crib..." Ethan's hands started to shake. "It climbed up the wall...scary... I thought it was gonna eat Maria."

"Maria..." Nico took off, his feet pounding against the floor. He needed to get to Maria. He didn't know why, but he had a horrible feeling. A feeling so deep it was almost instinctual. A feeling that turned out to be right.


	8. Chapter 7

No matter how much therapy, no matter how much prayer, Nico would never forget that day. He'd never forget the pale face of his daughter, her mouth open in silent sobs. Three scratch marks scarred her face, spilling blood all over the crib and the blankets. Her stuffed animal, a yellow bunny she had yet to name, was covered in red.

"WILL!" Nico picked Maria up and held her to his chest, trying to calm her frantic cries. How he hadn't heard over the baby monitor, he'd never be sure. But something had hurt his baby and it wasn't going to get away with it.

Nico ran from the room with a blanket against the scratches to try and hold the blood in. Will met him in the hallway, shirtless with his work shirt in hand. His hair was wet from the shower, spilling into his face in thick strands. "Nico, what's wrong?"

"Will!" Nico stuffed the baby into Will's arms. "Fix her up! Hurry, please."

Will's eyes swept over the baby girl before turning angry. "What did you do?"

"What?" he was unaware of the blood covering his shirt, covering his hands. "You think I did this? I ran in to find her already bleeding. Just...just fix her, Will! We can argue later!"

Will thankfully took the hint and ran for his first aid kit, leaving Nico alone in the dark hallway. He could swear he heard laughter, could swear that he wasn't alone. But he was covered in his baby's blood and he wasn't sure where his other babies were. So he took his shirt off and headed to the kitchen, headed for the kids that he could help. He would have to trust Will to take care of Maria.

Bianca was helping Ethan eat his breakfast when he came back, her long hair now in braids down her back. As she cut Ethan's eggs for him, he finished one of her braids before putting the hairband in.

"Are you both alright?" Nico asked after a moment of silence, his eyes having already judged that they weren't physically hurt. "Calmed down and everything?"

Bianca shook her head. "Why did you run out? You scared us half to death."

"Yeah," Ethan pipped up. "Half to becoming a ghost!"

Nico gave him a half smile. "Sorry, kid. I had to check on Maria. It turns out the baby monitor is...not working. I don't know why."

"Is she okay?" Ethan asked, concern written all over his face. "Did she get eaten?"

Nico couldn't help but smile at Ethan finally getting the grammar correct. "No...she didn't get eaten. She must have scratched her face or something. Will's fixing her up."

"Doesn't she wear mittens so that doesn't happen?" Bianca questioned. "Because that's what I remember."

Nico stared at her for another minute. "Why are you so happy to ruin my lies?"

"Lies?!" Ethan stood on his chair and pointed to Nico. "Liar! You admitted it!"

Nico sighed. "I'm not a liar. I just don't know what happened. Now sit down before you fall."

Ethan sat with a loud thump. "Is Maria okay?"

"She'll be fine," Nico promised. "Just eat your breakfast."

Bianca, who hadn't said much on the topic, stood up from the table with her face set in a serious expression. "Dad, can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Um...sure." he gestured to the hallway. "Ethan, stay in here and finish your breakfast. We'll be right back."

Ethan dropped his fork. "You're leaving me alone? With the ghosts?"

"There are no ghosts." Nico followed Bianca out of the room. "Just stay put. We'll be right back."

Making sure to close the door behind them, Nico kept his back to Bianca for a solid minute before finally turning to face her. His daughter was paler than usual but she wasn't scared. If anything, she was angry. "What is it?"

"What's the truth?" she asked. "Because I know you lied in there. You're a horrible liar."

Nico sighed. "Bi... It's something that I don't understand."

"Tell me anyway," she demanded.

Nico ran a hand through his hair. "Maria had three scratches on her face that drew blood. I have no idea where they came from. They were too deep for her to have done them."

Bianca's stern gaze disappeared. "Is she okay?"

"Will's fixing her up," Nico assured. "She'll be okay."

She started to pace, her hands moving to her hair just as he did when he was stressed. "What would have hurt a baby?"

"I don't know," Nico admitted. "Just don't worry about it, okay? I'm handling it."

"You're handling it?!" Bianca stopped in her tracks to glare at him, tears streaming from her eyes. "Ethan's scared to death! Maria got hurt! I'm bored out of my damn mind! This place is horrible and you're not handling it!"

"Language." Nico's eyes narrowed. "And I'm trying. I'm trying my-"

"You're not trying hard enough." Bianca snapped. "Not if we're still here, still experiencing this shit."

"Bianca! Watch your mouth." Nico growled. "You can't talk like that to me. I know we're all tensed up. I know we're all stressed. It was a big move. A big change of lifestyles. But you need to get used to it. We can't go back."

"Why not?" Bianca wiped at her tears. " _Why not_ , dad?"

"We wasted all our money coming here," Nico answered. "Every penny. Now, Will is working so we can pay for the electricity and buy food and the water. And that takes all our money."

Bianca gestured around them. "Sell this dump!"

"It isn't mine to sell," Nico argued. "It's Will's."

"He's your husband! Ask him to sell it!" Bianca pleaded. "Please! It's hurting us! Think about what it did to your baby!"

"The castle didn't hurt my baby. I don't know what did." Nico denied. "Now calm down and go sit with Ethan."

Bianca crossed her arms. "You're in denial."

"Do what I said," Nico ordered. "I have to check on Will and Maria."

Bianca walked into the kitchen silently but didn't lose her anger, nor did Nico expect her to. Deep down, he was just as angry at himself as she was.


	9. Chapter 8

_Mom,_

 _Weird things are happening here..._ really _weird things. I don't know if it's safe anymore. I'm scared. Nico is, too. He's been so stressed lately, aggravated. He's not himself and I think it's the castle that's doing it to him._

 _I know I grew up with something eerily similar when grandma lived with us. I don't remember much but have that one memory I've told you about. The one you have on video. The possession._

 _When grandma left again for Scotland everything got better. But now I think it's back again. It's affecting my family and we need help. Please tell me what to do. I'm running out of options. My baby got hurt. I don't have the money to move._

 _Please get back to me soon. I need help._

 _Love,_

 _Will._

Will set his pen down with a sense of desperation. This was his last chance. This was his last shot. If this didn't work... He failed his family. Failed the love of his life. Failed his children.

Maria had finally fallen back asleep, her small head rested against his chest. Tears still moistened her soft cheeks around the bandages, marking the pain she had felt. A pain that never would have happened if they hadn't moved here.

Will didn't believe in ghosts. He still didn't. But he believed in demons, believed that there were entities that could hurt, that could possess. He had witnessed it himself as a small child. The raw fear it fed on, the rage of emotions that took over. How could he ever forget? Most nights it haunted his dreams, haunted his soul.

Nico himself had something haunting him, but it wasn't an entity. It was his past. But it did just as much damage.

Will had first met Nico when they were fifteen. Highschool sweethearts. When they first met, however, Nico's life was anything but picture perfect. And Will could tell with just one glance. Dark bags under dark eyes, long sleeves on the hottest of days, messy hair and uncared for skin. Dark eyes... Dark eyes that were as dead as those six feet under.

Just the sight of Nico had sent dread running into Will's stomach. But in that dread, butterflies emerged.

It was love at first sight. Both would agree, but they never knew why. Something about the other boy caught their attention, caught their heart and soul. Kept their eyes glued together.

Love hit. It changed Nico for the better, changed him into a good man. It changed Will, changed him into an understanding man. Together, they adopted their first daughter as soon as they were married. A marriage that would last decades.

But like all marriages, they had their fights. They had their rough spots. They had instances when they thought it was over. But something always pulled them back together. Maybe they were soulmates. Maybe it was just love.

Whatever it was, it bound their souls as one. Two haunted souls, together fixed.

But now their life was once again thrown upside down.

Will got up from the old desk and started to pace, rocking his baby in his arms. His Maria. His daughter. He needed to keep her safe. But how could he keep her safe from something he couldn't touch, something he couldn't see?

How could he keep her safe from something he wasn't even sure he believed in?

With a dark heart and a shaky conscious, Will went downstairs to tell Nico what he had never explained before, the connection he had with this castle. The connection that might explain what happened to Maria, what Nico saw their first night there.


	10. Chapter 9

"Nico." Will poked his head into the kitchen to find his husband cleaning up the remains of breakfast. "Can we talk?"

"Not if you're going to accuse me of hurting my baby." Nico turned the faucet on before starting to wash Ethan's plate. "I can't believe you'd ever think that of me."

"Nico...I was shocked..." Will sat on the cupboard beside the sink, his eyes trained on Nico's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Nico laughed without humor. "Sure you didn't."

"Neeks..." Will moved some hair out of Nico's face. "Please believe me. I love you and I trust you with our kids. I was just scared."

Nico glanced over at him. "Why? Do you know something?"

Will retracted his hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Um... That's what we need to talk about."

"You knew something was wrong with this place?" Nico dropped the plate and glared at Will. "You knew and you brought this family here?!"

"No!" Will defended. "Not like that! Just let me explain?"

Nico turned the faucet off. "I'm listening."

Will played with his wedding ring. "I...I... When I was a kid...probably around five...my grandma lived with us."

"The same grandma that owned this castle? I thought you said you never met her." Nico questioned. "Was that also a lie?"

Will flushed. "I don't ever remember meeting her. I only have one memory of her and I...I couldn't really talk to her or anything."

"What happened?" Nico asked. "Just get to the point because this keeps sounding worse and worse."

"Right. So I was five and...and she came to live with us. I don't know why. And Maria is with Bianca by the way. But Ethan-"

"Is playing outside so keep talking," Nico commanded.

"Right." Will gulped nervously. "So...so the first thing I remember is having all this anger. And I was five, Nico. _Five_. But I kept attacking my grandma every chance I could get. One day it was so bad they had to restrain me..."

Will took a deep breath before continuing. "That's all I remember. But my mom has told me the story... Whatever followed my grandma to our house, it possessed me. It was anything but good. They got it out and she left for Scotland because she didn't want it hurting anyone again."

"Let me get this straight." Nico looked into his husband's eyes. "You took our family to a place you knew was infested with something evil?"

"I didn't!" Will defended. "I thought it was gone. I really didn't know... I'm sorry, Nico."

Nico rolled his eyes. "What are we supposed to do? What are we supposed to do, now? We have no money! Nowhere to go! It attacked our baby!"

"We'll deal with it," Will promised, making Nico scoff. "I mean it. We can deal with it."

"How?" Nico demanded. "How could we ever deal with something like this? We're not exorcists!"

"Nico! Just stop yelling at me!" Will pleaded. "I'll figure it out! You just have to let me!"

Nico opened his mouth to retort, but no words came. How could they? His brain didn't know what to say, what to think. His kids were hurting, but so was his husband. Guilt. It was written all over Will's face. But there was also determination. He really thought he could do this, thought he could make everything work.

"Do you trust me?" Will finally asked, his voice soft.

Nico nodded. "You're my husband... Of course, I do."

"Then trust me to make this better." Will took Nico's hands in his own. "Okay? This might have been the best thing to ever happen to us."

Nico tried to focus on that trust, tried to focus on Will's smile. "Okay."


	11. Chapter 10

Bianca laid on her bed with a huff of distaste and depression. She missed her old home, somehow missed sharing a room with her siblings. Missed Wi-Fi and school. Missed just being around people.

There was a town not too far away. Will always went there for work and brought groceries home, but that was all she heard of it. She never went, never met anyone new. It might as well have been fake.

She missed socialization. She never had friends, but she always ended up having someone to talk to that was around her age. Now? She had her parents and younger siblings. None of them were good to hold a conversation with.

Maria laid on Bianca's chest, asleep with her thumb in her mouth. Her tears had dried away, but the bandage still took up most of her face, hiding her cuts. Three cuts... Bianca had seen TV. She had read books. She knew what three scratches meant.

And it wasn't good.

The shadows in the room seemed to darken, sending Bianca's arms around Maria in hopes to protect her. If she could, that is. How can you protect someone from something that shouldn't even exist?

"Go away," Bianca commanded, not even sure to who she was talking. But she felt a presence, could sense that something was in that room, something evil. Something that never should have been there to begin with. "Leave us alone."

The presence didn't disappear but didn't come any closer. As Bianca focused on trying to keep Maria asleep, she realized that she felt strangely comforted by it. It was there for her when no one else was.

* * *

"So...what's your plan?" Nico asked, his eyes on Ethan through the large window. "To keep us safe."

Will looked over from a pile of papers. "First stop is a place with internet. There's a library in town we can take the kids to."

"Okay..." Nico leaned his head back. "That'd be good. They'll be able to get out of the house."

"Will you get them ready for me?" Will asked. "I've got work stuff to do."

Nico rolled his eyes but got up. "Fine. But you better not focus on work when we get there. This is more important."

"I know, I know," Will assured him. "I have a plan."

"You said that when you ended up getting your tongue stuck to that swingset," Nico remembered as he walked out of the room. "Those were great times."

"You had gotten me high!" Will called back. "That's not fair!"

Nico shook his head as he walked outside. Leave it to Will to shout something like that. "Ethan, come get ready. We're going to go to town."

Ethan looked up from the grass he had been ripping from the ground. "But I'm playing."

"Playing what, exactly?" Nico asked, squatting next to him. "You're making a mess."

"Okay, okay." Ethan's eyes lit up. "I had a dream about it last night. It looked so fun! You tear up all the grass! Then there's all brown-"

"Yeah, you're left with only dirt." Nico nodded. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Cause. You draw." Ethan pointed to the small spot of dirt. "I wanted it bigger. But watch." He used his finger to outline a circle in the dirt, then drawing a star inside it. "It's called a...a...pen something."

Nico's smile dropped. "Why in hell-"

"What's it called?" Ethan looked up from the dirt pentagram as if he had just drawn something light and innocent. "I can't say it. I tried really hard to, though."

Nico swept his foot over the dirt, erasing the pentagram from sight. "Where did you see that, Ethan? Who told you to draw that?"

"I told you..." Ethan's eyes watered at the destruction of his drawing. "Why did you do that?!"

"Because it's bad." Nico grabbed Ethan and stood up. "You said a dream? Are you sure?"

Ethan nodded, his lips starting to tremble. "Why is it bad?"

"Because." Nico walked into the house with his son clenched to him. "Don't draw that again. Please. For me."

"But why?!" Ethan demanded. "You ruined it!"

"Ethan." Nico stopped walking before putting his forehead against Ethan's. "Listen to me for a second, okay? Listen to me."

Ethan stopped fussing for a minute, long enough for Nico to talk again. "That thing is called a pentagram. It's really bad. It brings ghosts here."

Ethan's eyes widened, his tears evaporating. "Ghosts?"

Nico nodded. "You don't want them to eat you, right? So don't draw that symbol."

"But..." the tears came again, bursting from broken eyes. "He said he gonna hurt me if I don't."

"Who?"

"The man in my dreams."


	12. Chapter 11

The ride to the library was in silence. Ethan had fallen asleep from crying so hard, Maria was asleep in her carrier. Bianca had her hand out the window, her eyes on the rolling landscapes they passed.

Will drove the route he always took to work, his hands clenched around the steering wheel, his knuckles white from the grip. His eyes stared straight ahead, he never looked anywhere else. Nico napped in the passenger's seat.

They eventually got to the little town and its library, a two-story building just as old as the others in the area. Will woke Nico up before bringing his family inside, letting Bianca and Ethan do their own thing as he sat down at one of the computers, Nico next to him with their baby in their arms.

"So...what is your plan?" Nico whispered. "What are you looking up?"

"The history of the castle," Will answered, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "We need to know exactly what's there before trying to get it out or before trying to live with it. We need to see which one we should do."

"And you think you'll figure all that out through the internet?" Nico asked. "Because that's a lot."

"It's worth a try." Will focused his eyes back on the screen. "Will you keep an eye on the kids for me while I do?"

"Yeah." Nico found Bianca at the counter, talking to the girl manning it. They looked to be around the same age, but the girl had hair as pink as Bianca's shirt and just as bright. Ethan was at a computer a couple seats down, his small fingers slamming into the keyboard. When Nico walked up behind him, he found Ethan trying to get to multiple games that were blocked by the computer because they weren't educational.

"Need help?" Nico asked, making Ethan almost jump out of his seat. "What game are you trying to get?"

"Minecraft," Ethan admitted. "It won't come up."

"It's blocked." Nico made sure Maria was secured with his left arm before using his right to type into the keyboard. After a few downloads and hacks, he got the game up for his son. "There you go. Play wisely."

Ethan smiled, revealing a couple of lost teeth. "Thank you!"

"Whisper." Nico kissed his head before moving back to Will, who looked ready to fall asleep. He searched through Google without anything new nor anything helpful. So far, the trip was anything but successful.

Nico sat next to him and rocked Maria close to his chest, hoping she would stay asleep throughout the visit. The last thing they needed was a crying baby inside a silent library.

After what felt like hours Nico looked up to check the kids again, just in time to see Bianca leaving with the girl. Anna, her nametag said. As they snuck out, Bianca made sure to tiptoe on her way. But it didn't work on Nico. As soon as he handed Maria to Will, he followed where the girls went.

Anna sat on the steps leading up to the library, Bianca sitting close to her. She pulled a cigarette box from her pocket, holding it out to his daughter as she searched for a lighter in her pocket. "Want one?" A thick accent but he understood every word.

"Hell no!" Nico marched over to the two girls before pulling Bianca away. "She doesn't want one. Bianca, get in the car."

"Dad!" Bianca pulled away from him as she got to his feet. "You can't just stalk me!"

"Really? Stalk you? We're in a strange country in a town that we've never been in before. I'm sorry for wanting to make sure you were okay." Nico gestured to Anna, who looked up at him as if he was the Devil himself. "And it turns out I can't trust you as much as I thought."

"I wasn't going to smoke!" Bianca promised. "I was just going to sit out here with her. I swear."

"What if you had Maria?" Nico asked. "Would you have sat next to someone who was smoking?"

"No." Bianca clarified.

"Remind me why not." Nico prompted.

"The smoke would get in her lungs." Bianca rolled her eyes. "You really are an-"

"It can get in your lungs, too." Nico cut in. "Just like it can get in Maria's. So go get in the car."

"Dad-"

"Car."

"Please-"

"Car."


	13. Chapter 12

As soon as Nico got in the car, Bianca started again with complaints that made him want to run off the road. Finally, with nothing else to do, he put his fingers over his ears and laid his head against the steering wheel.

It took ten minutes for Bianca to pull his fingers out of his ears. "Fine, I'll shut up. I'm sorry. I'll shut up."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"You'll let me talk?" Nico asked. "Because I'm not going to start if you keep complaining."

"I'll let you start," Bianca muttered. "But why are we in the car?"

"I was going to take you to a cafe to talk." Nico started the car before pulling out of the parking lot. "Ethan and I are starving."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Okay."

Nico sighed. "Why are you being so difficult?"

"Because I finally had a friend and you ruined it!" she quickly looked to the window to hide a tear that escaped. "We live in a fucking haunted castle that belongs at Disney. My baby sister was hurt. We moved away from the only girls I know and I started my fucking period!"

Nico paled. "I forgot that existed..."

"Dad-"

"Do you know how everything...works? Because I can explain-"

"Dad." Bianca held a hand up to his mouth. "I know because of Anna. So now you focus on getting this castle demon free, okay? And let me do my own thing."

"No smoking."

"I know."

"No drugs. No sex."

Bianca took her hand back. "I know. Did you and dad find anything helpful or was this whole trip for nothing?"

"We left when he finally found an article," Nico admitted. "But so far nothing."

"Maybe it's good but needs to tell us something." Bianca offered. "Because last night I felt comforted by it."

"If that was the case it wouldn't have hurt a baby." Nico dismissed. "She could have bled out. That thing isn't good, Bianca."

Bianca leaned her head on her hand. "Maybe you're wrong."

* * *

Will's heart was in his stomach as he read through the articles he had finally found, not by internet but hidden deep within the old books of the library. After using Google translate, the actual history of the castle finally came to light.

The folklore. The legends. The myths. All equally terrifying, all equally horrible.

For the first time, Will truly felt like he couldn't go home.

Death. So much death, splattered over the pages of the book. Seven suicides. Seven different ways. Seven suspected demons. Seven deadly sins.

Suicide Number One: George Oscar, 22 years old. Shot himself in the head after shooting his girlfriend during sex. Lust.

Suicide Number Two: Chip Prescott, 34 years old. Literally ate himself to death. Gluttony.

Suicide Number Three: Sarah Rutherford, 19 years old. Threatened to kill herself when her husband refused to give her access to their money. Accidentally went through with it. Greed.

Suicide Number Four: Sal Graham. No exercise, no movements. Didn't even move from the couch to go to the bathroom. Died in that pile of human waste. Sloth.

Suicide Number Five: Joey Wells. Killed his wife before killing himself after finding out that she had cheated. Wrath.

Suicide Number Six: Andy Williams. Wanted his brother's wife. Killed his brother, killed the wife when she didn't want him, killed himself. Envy.

Suicide Number Seven: Perry Cannon. Too prideful to admit that he was sick. Snuck some pills when he thought no one was looking. Those pills killed him.

Seven suicides. Seven deadly sins. And as some speculated, seven demons.


	14. Chapter 13

"Will, I'm back." Nico slipped into the seat by Will at that old library. "Are we ready to go?"

Will glanced over. "Where are the kids?"

"Ethan fell asleep after eating. Bianca is watching him in the car." Nico took Maria from Will. "How's she been?"

"Slept the whole time so she'll be awake soon." Will handed a paper to Nico. "This is what I translated out of one of the books here. Just...just read it. I don't know how else to tell you."

Nico took the paper. "Out of what book?"

Will slid the thick book over to Nico. "This one. I have the page bookmarked. But I'm positive I translated it right. It even got to the point in time when my grandma became the owner."

Nico's eyes flicked over the paper as his face paled drastically. "Oh god..."

"Yeah..." Will scratched the back of his neck. "I...I'm sorry. We should have just used the inheritance to make a living back in the US. We shouldn't have taken this step. I'm sorry."

Nico's eyes hesitated before moving to his husband. "What do we do?"

Will looked down at his lap. "I don't know... Hotel for tonight?"

"With what money?"

"Fine, no hotel." Will scratched the back of his neck. "You can drive the kids around while I go talk to a priest?"

"I don't think it'll work but I guess." Nico got up and grabbed the baby bag. "I'll talk to you later, I guess."

"Yeah, talk to you later." Will felt the need for coffee settle into him as he got up, ready to walk to the nearest church. When had life gotten so hard, so messed up?

When had he ever ran to a church for help? When had he last stepped foot in one?

* * *

Fear. As Nico tried to distract the kids, he could barely stop himself from curling into a ball or throwing up. His stomach twisted up, his gag reflex was triggered at each thought. Will... He needed Will to be okay.

Maria was awake and crying, her small baby hands reaching for her stuffed animal. Ethan, instead of handing it to her, kept his head out the window as he watched the passing town. Bianca sat up front with Nico, her head resting against the car door as she slept.

Even after everything they had seen, the kids still didn't understand the severity of the situation. They didn't understand that as they slept, their father was battling something darker then they had ever imagined.

* * *

Will talked to the priest that day, an old man who barely understood English. They went back to the castle, went back to what Will was now calling Hell itself. They went equipped with holy water, went equipped with a Bible. They went equipped with anything that might be able to fight off such powerful forces.

Seven hours. It took seven hours to get those things out, to get that castle safe again. Yet even when the priest left and Will collapsed on that couch in exhaustion, he felt afraid. Afraid to give it one more chance, afraid to trust his family there again.

But just as the priest said he would, he sent Nico and the kids back to the castle, back to where now, seven exorcisms took place. Back to the castle that they had to bury crucifixes at, back to the castle where they would have to continuously bless each month with sage.

And they came.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Nico stood at the stove as he cooked breakfast, his dark eyes full of light. As he mumbled the lyrics to the music he had playing, he heard his kids start to come down before they left for school.

Bianca came in first with her phone to her ear, her bookbag thrown over her shoulder as she talked to her boyfriend. Max, his name was. Nico hated him, but Will thought he was a good guy. Whatever the case, Bianca finally had friends and Nico wasn't going to take that from her.

Ethan ran in soon after her, his hair spiked up with shower gel. As he climbed into his seat, he dumped his homework over the table. "Dad, I need you to check it."

"I will while you eat." Nico glanced over at them to make sure they were ready for school before looking back at the frying bacon. "How'd you two sleep?"

"Good." Ethan started to sort the papers. "I'm so excited! Today's the talent show!"

"I know, I'm going to be there to watch." Nico replied. "Are you nervous at all?"

Ethan shook his head. "I love to sing."

"That's good." Nico completed each plate before bringing them to the table. "Is your friend coming over after school?"

Ethan nodded. "You're driving him?"

"Yeah, I can just pick you both up." Nico sat across from his kids. "Bianca, put the phone down so you can eat. Don't make me regret buying you it."

"Okay, okay." Bianca began to eat but kept the phone in her left hand. "I'm eating, see?"

Nico sipped his cup of coffee, steam rising from the cup and moving passed his eyes. Bianca had her own cup, but no one else in the castle drank it, not even Will. He had learned to hate the taste despite the sugar he poured in it.

Skimming over his son's homework, Nico mentally did each problem before handing it back to Ethan. "You're good to go."

"Good morning!" Will entered the room with a tie in hand. "Nico, help me put this on?"

"Come sit." Nico tapped the seat next to him. "Can you make it to Ethan's talent show?"

"I'm going to try." Will grinned at his kids as Nico began to put the tie on him. "How was your night?"

"Good." Ethan poured syrup over his plate. "I didn't wake up at all."

"Good, that's good. What about you, Bianca?" Will asked.

The older girl shrugged. "I was doing homework."

Will sighed. "You need to get sleep, too. Nico, tell her."

"I've told her." Nico kissed his cheek before standing up. "I'm going to go get Maria. Have a good day at work."

Will started to eat. "You have a good day, too."


End file.
